Wonder. Anger. Hope. Despair. Love. Violence. The Psalms contain a continuum of passion. They are songs that hope for a savior amidst the agonies and joys of everyday life. They are songs that anticipate a righteous reign in a world full of tyranny. They are songs that move the reader to an immovable God. The Psalms were central to Israel's life, Jesus' life, and the church's life. The Holy Spirit commands the church through the Apostle Paul to address one another with the Psalms. (Ephesians 5:19) Yet modern Christianity has silenced large portions of the Psalter because their despair, violence, and lament seem to be hopeless-an aesthetic the church wants to avoid. In Center Stage, Aaron O'Harra walks the reader through the Psalms, encouraging the church to implement the entirety of this heavenly hymnbook into their private and corporate worship. Along the way, he addresses a variety of questions: How does Jesus' command to "bless those who curse you..." fit with the curses of the Psalms? Is lamenting with "bottled tears" really an act of faith? And most importantly, where is Jesus in the Psalms? In God's cathedral the cries of his King are heard from center stage in every note of the Psalter-in every rhythm of his divine composition.
Aaron O'Harra is the teaching pastor at the Rising Church in Eugene, OR and instructor of Biblical languages, Hermeneutics, and Preaching at their Center for Biblical Training. He holds a B.A. from Northwest University in Kirkland, WA and an M.A. in Biblical Studies from Bethlehem Seminary in Minneapolis, MN. He and his wife, Jena, reside in Eugene, OR with their five children-Elizabeth, Gideon, Evangeline, Blaize, and Simeon.
